About

My husband, John, and I lost our son to heroin addiction in 2014. John Leif was 25 and had struggled with opiate addiction for 10 years. After he died, we kept a journal together for a year, writing to our son as a way to hold on to our sanity and as a place to bury our grief. In the past two years, we have been turning our story into a memoir which we hope to see published soon. Our hope is that as we share our story – on this blog, through our book, and at meetings – we can encourage others to open up and share their stories. In this way, the light can shine in the dark places where all addictions hide.

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About us:

As parents of an opiate addict who lost his life when he was 25, we want to share our experiences openly and honestly with the hope that we can encourage other parents, families, and friends to do the same and help remove the stigma and shame that have perpetuated the opiate epidemic. For parents with children of all ages, we want to make critical information and resources readily available with the goal of preventing other young people from entering the world of opiate addiction with all of its deadly consequences.